Vertically adjustable link supported seat



Oct. 31, 1950 c. J. BARECK! VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE LINK SUPPORTED SEAT Fi led Sept. 28, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 E 5 5 6 4 a 5 Z 4 w. 0 \f 1 z r 2 w N I //F\\\ I /7 RN 2 9 A D 1 8 WW6 n A u 2 0 0 ma 7 5 5 1 H M INVENTOR Chesier I .Barecki BY W M ATTORNEY Oct. 31, 1950 c. J. BARECKI 2,527,905

VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE LINK SUPPORTED SEAT Filed Sept. 28, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 7

. INVENTOR Che-rial .I .Bdteclsi M46016 ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 31, 1950 -VEBTICALLY ADJUSTABLE LINK SUPPORTED SEAT Chester 3. Barecki, Grand Rapids, Mich, assignor to American Seating Company, Grand Rapids, Mich, .a corporation of New Jersey Application September 28, 1946, Serial No. 699,973

1 Claim. (01. 155-91) The present invention relates to chair supports and more particularly to adjustable supporting pedestals for chairs primarily intended for occupancy by the operators of motor busses and other vehicles.

The primary objects'of the invention are to provide a bus drivers chair which is adjustable in height to accommodate persons of different physique and to suit the preference of the individual; to provide such a chair which is especially convenient in adjustment; and'to pro vide an adjustable chair supporting pedestal which is in the nature of an improvement over that shown in a pending application, Serial No. 596,380 filed May 28, 1945, now Patent No. 2,490,341, granted Dec. 6, 1949, by R. L. Davis and A. J. Plachecki and by them assigned to my assignee.

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bus drivers chair showing features of my new invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the chair support or pedestal, shown partly in enlarged section taken on line 2-2 of Figure 4;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a side elevational View of the chair in a raised position of adjustment, the chair back being shown fragmentarily and concealed parts of the supporting pedestal being shown in dotted lines;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 and showing the chair in a lowered position of adjustment;

Figure 6 is a side elevational view similar to Figure 4 and showing a modified construction; and

Figure '7 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of parts of the modified supporting pedestal and mechanism shown in Figure 6.

Referring now in detail to these drawings, the vertically adjustable drivers chair there shown comprises a chair supporting pedestal generally designated Ii] upon which is mounted a tubular frame II to which are secured a chair seat l2 and a chair back IS.

The supporting pedestal comprises an upwardly tapering base l4 of rearwardly opening V-shaped cross section and provided with flanges l5 for securing the base to the floor of a vehicle as by means of bolts IS. A downwardly tapering seat bracket I! of forwardly opening V-shaped cross section is connected to the base I4 by a pair of vertically spaced, substantially parallel, rearwardly and upwardly extending links 18 and 19. The lower link l8 comprises spaced side plates 20, 2! connected at their lower, forward ends by a tubular bearing 22 turnably mounted on a pintle 23 secured to the lower, forward portion of thebase l4 and extending from side to side thereof, and the side plates 29, 2| are connected at their upper, rearward ends by a tubular bearing 24 turnably mounted on a pintle 25 secured to the lower, rearward portion of the seat bracket ll and extending from side to side thereof. The upper ling I3 is formed similarly to the lower link 18 and comprises side plates 26, 21 connected by tubular bearings 28, 29 turnably mounted respectively on a pintle 33 in the upper forward portion of the base l4 and a pintle 3! in the upper rearward portion of the seat bracket [1. The upper link 13 has an arcuate rack 32 secured to the side plate 2! thereof as by welding, and the spurs 33 of this arcuate rack are arranged concentrically about the axis of the pivotal connection between the link 43 and the base 14.

A detent 34 is pivotally mounted on the base I4, being turnable on the pintle 23 on the base, and this detent 34 is movable into and out of engagement with the spurs 33 of the arcuate rack 32. A forwardly and laterally extending arm 35 on the detent 34 is spring-pressed downwardly by a coiled compression spring 33 interposed between this arm 35 and a collar 31 secured by a cotter pin 38 on a bracket 33 secured to and depending from the front wall of the base I4. The detent 34 is thus normally urged into engagement with one or another spur 33 of the arcuate rack 32.

As seen in Figures 1-5 inclusive, a foot pedal 40 located conveniently to the foot of an occupant of the chair, has its shank 4| turned rearwardly and inwardly through an aperture 42 in the adjacent side wall of the base l4, and the inner end of said shank is rigidly connected to a triangular plate 43 pivotally mounted at 44 on the side wall of the base l4. The triangular plate has a slot 45 which engages a pin 46 on the detent 34, and it will be seen that when the foot pedal 40 is depressed the detent 34 is moved outof engagement with the arcuate rack 32 so that the link I9 is free "to move to angularly adjusted position in which the seat bracket l1 and the seat I 2 are positioned at the desired vertically adjusted level. When the foot pedal 46 is released, the spring 36 returns the detent into engagement with a spur 33 of the arcuate rack 32 and the seat is thus secured in vertically adjusted position. This movement of the detent 34 also returns the foot pedal 40 to its normal, raised position by the movement of the detents pin 46 bearing in the slot 45 of the triangular plate 43.

A pair of strong, coiled extension springs 41, 48 have their forward ends secured to lugs 49, 50 on the tubular bearing 38 of the link 19, and have their rearward ends secured to spaced ears or lugs 52 on a plate '53 which is secured as by welding to the exterior of the rear wall of the seat bracket H, the lugs 5| and 52 extending forwardly from the plate 53 through apertures 54, 55 in said wall. These springs 41, 48 serve to normally urge the seat upwardly and forwardly, thus counterbalancing the weight of the chair occupant and facilitating vertical adjustment of the chair while occupied.

In Figures 6 and 7 is shown a hand lever 60 which ma if desired be substituted for the foot pedal 40 previously described. In this modification, the shank 6! of the hand lever 60 extends downwardly and inwardly through an aperture 62 in the side wall of the base, and the inner end of the shank is rigidly connected to a triangular plate 63 pivotally mounted on the pintle 64 extending from side to side of the base. The triangular plate 63 is connected by a pin 65 to the detent 66, and it will be seen that when the hand lever 60 is moved rearwardly the detent 66 is moved out of engagement with the arcuate rack 61. A compression spring 68 similar to the spring 36 shown in Figures 2-4 is provided for returning the detent into engagement with the arcuate rack and for returning the hand lever 60 to its normal, forwardly moved position.

It will thus be seen that the invention provides a simple, eificient, and easily operated drivers chair of the vertically adjustable type, and while but two specific embodiments of the invention have been herein shown and described it will be understood that other modifications may fall within the scope and spirit of the following claim.

I claim:

In a chair: a base adapted for installation on the floor of a vehicle or the like; a seat positioned above the base and having on its underside a seat bracket; a pair of vertically spaced, substantially parallel links each having an end thereof pivotally associated with the base and the other end thereof pivotall associated with the seat bracket whereby angular adjustment of the links effects vertical adjustment of the seat, one of said links having an arcuate rack thereon with spurs arranged concentrically about the axis of said links pivotal connection with the base; a detent pivotally mounted on the base and adapted to engage one or another of said spurs in various angularly adjusted positions of said link for releasably securing the seat in vertically adjusted position; a plate pivotally mounted on the base and having a pin and slot connection with said detent whereby turning movement of the plate in one direction effects engagement of the detent with said rack and whereby turning movement of the plate in the opposite direction effects disengagement of the detent from the rack; and a lever having one end thereof fixedly connected to said plate and the other end thereof accessible to the chair occupant whereby the occupant may effect turning movements of said plate.

CHESTER J. BARECKI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

